"The Huxtables"?

[TomInTib]

Fuck Norah O'Donnell.

Fuck her beyond the grave.

[elkston]

1. Sheez. Does she know *ANY* middle class black people? n/t

[Captain Hilts]

4. Well it was the top-rated television show for several years.

I'll give her a break on this one.

[Gold Metal Flake]

9. Yeah, not at all racist or anything.

:eyes:

[Political Tiger]

27. Why don't white politicians ever get compared....

...to fictional white families on TV?

[shadowknows69]

31. 20 years ago

[Teaser]

40. 4 zillion years ago

.

[karynnj]

53. and a very positive one - at the time they were on it was

among the best family shows on TV - and they were one of few really functional families then. There are worse shows to be compared to. Equating them shows stereotyping, but in a weird way, I wonder if the fact that there was a Cosby show and later others with appealing characters, who happened to be black in fact may have made it easier for Obama.

[CreekDog]

15. no but she watched The Cosby Show a lot

so she knows black people now. :eyes:

[Egnever]

23. Snarf!

I had a black friend ...

[Kittycat]

2. What the FUCK?

How fucking idiotic can she possibly be??? Why stop there? Why not call them the Jeffersons?

[Arnold Judas Rimmer]

6. Because the Jeffersons were on CBS?

Gotta mention the NBC shows you know. At least she didn't say "Diff'rent Strokes"

[JohnnyBoots]

38. "Why hasn't Webster endorsed Obama? Is Urkle a potential VP pick for McCain? He

could sway the key, "Black geek demographic." .... will be her next line of questioning. She is an idiot.

[K8-EEE]

47. Wachoo talkin' bout Willis? n/t

[jbnow]

29. Because George J was a fool. Anyway how many

functional white intact families are TV families? Leave it to Beaver was a long time ago (and little girls are just cuter than little boys) although I'm sure there are shows I can't think of.

I get why people think it is stupid, it was a clumsy compliment, but comparison to a loved TV family that was wholesome, functional, smart, loving and all-American is the least of our problems.

[K8-EEE]

46. Well they're movin' on up....to the White House....

It is BIZARRE these old sitcom refs, like "America has to know they're like the HUXTABLES" Jeez. Makes ya proud, NOT!

[Motown_Johnny]

3. as opposed to the radical muslim black militants the RWers are trying to paint them as

You don't seem to understand

[Cosmocat]

25. YEP, sad to say, but if it is the Huckstables ..

at this point, we need to take that and run ...

[Renew Deal]

5. I heard that.

It's a little Jimmy the Greakish

[knixphan]

33. Just what I was thinking...

A little ignorant. Not necessarily malicious, but still a little ignorant...

Maybe J the Greek was a little extra-ignorant...

[Leftist Agitator]

43. Jimmy the Greek was from Steubenville, OH...

My Grandfather grew up with him. Judging by the statements that I've overheard from his friends over the years, extra-ignorant doesn't begin to cover it.

[Chimichurri]

7. Really. Is that the ONLY black family she knows of?

She should be ashamed of herself.

Although, we should be so lucky.

[CakeGrrl]

8. Dumbass. Probably the closest she gets to knowing a "nice" black family.

Idiot.

I'm stickin' with C-SPAN! All convention, no idiot b.s.

[Berry Cool]

11. To be fair, she didn't come up with that, Tweety did.

And I think he was making a bigger point: some non-black people really DON'T know any "nice black families" aside from the ones they see on TV. And it may well be because they don't know any black people, period--because they just don't live around any. And every day, the media bombard them with images of "ghetto" African Americans that they find alien and scary. They may never have met any people like that, either, but again, they feel alienated.

For people who live in that world, maybe the best the Obamas can do is try to make those people compare them to the "nice black families" they see on a TV sitcom. They have to hit people where they are now, not where they'd like them to be. They may not be the most wordly and enlightened people, but that doesn't mean they can't be reached. They're not necessarily the hardened racists some people are.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

12. CM made a great point when he said this

something along the lines of "What do people want? This is a couple who worked hard, got great educations, played by the rules and have earned what they have. What is there to complain about, anyway?"

[CakeGrrl]

26. OK...Point taken. Even if if feels like an unfair broad brush! n/t

[redqueen]

41. I thought Keith said it first!

[JaneQPublic]

10. That remark was actually helpful.

For a lot of older white folks Barack is having trouble with, the "Huxtables" connection is something that would make them feel more comfortable and familiar with the idea of a black family in the White House.

[shireen]

13. i'm sick of hearing that Huxtable reference. nt

[Berry Cool]

14. Understandable, but you might have to get the sick bag and keep it handy

because more than one person used it tonight--even Rachel.

Let's face it, it's convenient. The Cosby Show became famous for taking a sitcom about a black family and making it the number-one show--with whites as well as blacks--and was notable in that it depicted blacks as successful upper-middle-class or lower-upper-class people, which was not the most common media image back in those days. It contained no ghetto stereotypes, because Bill Cosby didn't want it to. He didn't want a live version of Fat Albert, he wanted a story about an ordinary family with a decent level of money and success who just so happened to be black. And people of all colors watched it.

The Obamas bear a lot of similarities to the Huxtables. Two professional working parents--the wife/mother is even a lawyer, just as in their story (the difference is, the husband/father is also a lawyer and a politician as opposed to being a doctor), and they have some kids--who happen to be a couple of adorable "Rudy"-like girls.

The Huxtable comparison, like it or not, can make the Obamas seem a lot less alien to a lot of people whose main experiences of African Americans are what they get from the media--which all too often hypes the "ghetto," "street," "rapper," "gangsta," "criminal" stereotype. Neither the Huxtable image nor that image encompasses all AAs, of course. But the Obamas are far more "Huxtable" than not. That's an image many people are familiar and comfortable with, and it might make Barack Obama easier for some of them to vote for.

If image counted for nothing in politics, life would be a lot fairer. But it does count for something. And the more the Obamas can present themselves as successful Americans, period, who earned their success and want to make it possible for others to do the same, the better they might do at winning votes.

[FatDave]

17. BerryBush, I agree with both of your posts.

To a lot of white people, some uneducated, some who haven't come to terms with repressed racist feelings, there are two kinds of black people. Scary black people (Easy E) and nice black people (Will Smith). I'm not saying this is true, I'm saying this is misguided perception. I've heard this very sentiment expressed as "There are black people, and then there's s," and I'll bet I'm not the only one here who's heard something like that.

Now the republicans' only strategy is fear. You know this, you've seen it time and time again. And as great as you think Obama is doing, and as historic as you think this election is, you have to accept that the only thing the republicans have to is make whitey afraid of the scary black people. This is what they are trying, and it's what they will continue to try.

Is the "Huxtables" comparison odius? Yes, extremely. And it's not at all subtle. It's basically saying, "yes, but they're the good kind," and I do find that repugnant on many levels. But unfortunately, there's a lot of dumb-ass white people out there who need to hear crap like that.

So, sad as it is, calling them The Huxtables is really only going to help.

[TomInTib]

20. Yeah, but the blacks are pissed at Cosby.

Talking, like he did.

[ellacott]

49. The blacks are pissed at Cosby?

Interesting choice of words.

[shireen]

22. i understand what you're trying to say but

respectfully disagree. We need to demolish the notion of stereotypes. Let the Obamas define themselves.

[FrenchieCat]

24. As a Black person, I have to agree with your post.....

as certainly there is a wide array of Black folks, and the Obamas are neither the Huxtables (as they were raised by low wage earners), nor were they ever dirt poor. They are the in-betweens, like most of us. They are better off than their parents due to the opportunities available to them because they are Americans....which is why their story is the American story.

For those who hold stereotypes about Black people (not always through any fault of their own....because let's face it, the media certainly does stereotype various groups), there is not a wide array in their minds, but most likely two kinds; like you said. If those voting have to have an option between the "two types", it is preferrable that the Huxtable be the image that is conveyed when they see Barack and Michelle.

In other words, as far as the LIV are concerned, I'll take the Huxtable's stereotype for them to identify the Obamas with anyday. period.

So I'm a pragmatist and no problem with the label for those who need it.

[Cosmocat]

28. BINGO ...

after 6 months of muslim and painting Michele Obama as "ANGRY" if the best we can get at this point is the "Huckstables" we need to take that and RUN with it.

[CreekDog]

16. You don't want to know what show Pat Buchanan mentioned

:eyes:

[Drunken Irishman]

18. What about the Winslows?

:D

[WinkyDink]

19. Americans LOVED the Huxtables, so there, Whora!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

21. Time to drag out that famous Norah photo...

[knixphan]

34. LOL!!!!

[Lucky 13]

48. The White Ho!!!!

:rofl:

How have I not seen this before?!?

[shadowknows69]

30. "Fuck her beyond the grave"

I love ya Tom lol. I'm stealing that one.

[TomInTib]

32. I made it up on the fly.

It sounded good while I was typing it.

Love ya back, shadow.

[vaberella]

35. And thank you MSM and pundits for undermining Blacks as per your usual. n/t

:sarcasm:

[knixphan]

36. Would be a great time for one of the cast to come out

...and say "What? The Obamas are in a different universe from the fiction we created. Stop mixing journalism with entertainment."

Do it, Bill.

[scheming daemons]

37. Her politics aside, and even though she's several months pregnant, I have to admit.....

I'd like to "Fuck Norah O'Donnell".


Sue me.


I think she's drop-dead gorgeous and sexy as hell.

[Patsy Stone]

39. That clergyman they had on

was the first person I heard say that.

My immediate reaction:

[glitch]

42. Too late. She's been fucked for years. nt

[BidenDemocrat]

44. I watched MSNBC all night. Eugene Robinson used it first.

[Hekate]

45. Yes he did. And like millions of other Americans, I adored the Huxtables.

It was not a bad thing to say--it was an in-the-moment catchphrase that I thought went over very well. Bill Cosby and Felicia Rashad were genius in that program.

What did people want to hear: that the Obamas are June and Ward Cleaver? The Cleavers are what the Bushes pretend to be: the missus at home, where she belongs. The Huxtables were a much more modern family: very aspirational, both in professions, with the missus not expected to stay home all day.

Hekate

[TomInTib]

54. The 'pubs hated them.

I had two phone calls from Winger acquaintances of mine after that aired last night.

Each one referred to "Uppity Ni***rs".

That's why I was pissed off about it.

[Hekate]

55. Anyone who would use that word would never vote for Obama--never...

We're trying to reach the average decent American who wants to be able to see themselves and their families reflected in the Obama family -- such as the ones who watched the Huxtable family in great, great numbers. There were an awful lot of white people who watched that program.

Edited to add: Bill Cosby's made-for-TV family was (1) not angry, and (2) non-threatening. Oh, and although I think I covered this by implication, (3) really smart.

Take heart my friend.

BTW, sorry about your RW acquaintances. Sounds like a nasty experience fielding those phone calls.

Hekate

[wildflowergardener]

50. huxtables

Well if they are trying to appeal to some older people who might have a problem with a black person being president, it might make them stop and think that the Obamas are not really that different than them - other than the color of their skin - of course just seeing them on tv should help as well.

I can see them using an older sitcom family that was very popular, because most people I would think are familiar with that family - I know growing up in the 80's I am - I wouldn't have any idea who they would be referencing if they picked a newer show because I don't watch that much tv anymore, but I know that someone my age - 36 - or older would most likely know that family and have positive feelings about them cause - they were one of the first shows, I think that portrayed a black family in a positive light but didn't focus on the fact that they were black - they were just a nice family - two positive role models for their kids with cute kids.

Yes I'm white so that probably colors how I see things, but I did enjoy the Cosby show growing up and something that can link Obama to positive feelings someone might have about that show, could only help, I think.

Meg

[K8-EEE]

51. The McCains need to convince Murka they are really The Ropers

I'm already convinced actually...

[PerpetuallyDazed]

52. Whatever.

After he wins there will be more Obama family comparisons than made-up-for-TV LAND ones.